EscapeB
by joedan84
Summary: Spike retreats to Smallville to escape 'the voices.' While the Smallville gang is trying to figure out who he is, the Buffy gang is trying to get him back. (This version is for Buffy Fans!!)
1. Background

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Smallville Background

Buffy fans, here's a little background about Smallville in case you don't watch. If you do, you can't just skip to the story!

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Lana: The soft spoken high school beauty. She's just forming a friendship with Chloe. Clark has hopelessly fallen for her. Her parents were killed when she was 3 by a falling meteor, and she frequently visits their grave.

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Chloe: The nosy reporter. You can't hide anything from her. She's just beginning to accept Lana. She's best friends with Pete and Clark, and is trying to get over a major crush on Clark.

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Clark: The teenage Superman. He's just developing his powers. He can't seem to decide if he wants Chloe or Lana.

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Pete: Clark and Chloe's best friend. He doesn't get much air time. He's the only one who knows about Clark's powers other than Clark's parents.

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Smallville: Home of the meteors a.k.a. Kryptonite. The gang is rarely surprised by anything because of the wide array of meteor infected freaks that have come through Smallville. Chloe calls it 'the land of the weird, and the home of the strange.'


	2. Smallville

Started: November 6, 2002

Finished: November 7, 2002

Last Episode Seen Before Writing: Lineage

Pairing: slight Buffy/Spike, if you tilt your head to the side, squint, and concentrate

Rating: PG-13

Category: Xover with Buffy

Spoilers: SV: Xray 

BtVS: Hells' Bells, Seeing Red, Lessons, Beneath You 

Summary: Spike retreats to Smallville to escape 'the voices.' While the Smallville gang is trying to figure out who he is, the Buffy gang is trying to get him back

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters form Smallville or Buffy. Though, the world would be a better place if I did. (And who says money doesn't buy happiness? Lol.)

Author's Note: This is my first Xover, not to mention my very first Buffy fic ever. Be gentle in your judgment! ;) I also want to send all my thanks to Nicky. Without her help…and answering of a million Spike questions…I never would have been able to pull this off! Nicky, you're the greatest!

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Escape

Chapter 1-Smallville

Lana was crouching by her parent's graves when she heard a voice. She stood quickly, twirling to find the sound. 

"I come here. But does it help?" the voice laughs humorlessly. "No. Of course not. I can't escape them. I can never escape them."

"Who- Who's there?" Lana asked, her eyes searching the woods.

A figure rose quickly from where it was squatting on the ground. It whirled to face her.

Lana gasped, scurrying back quickly. She tripped over her parent's grave and fell backwards, jamming her wrist on the cold earth.

The figure was a man. At least it looked like a man. He had blond, almost curly, gelled hair, and was wearing a long, black, leather duster jacket. His face was what betrayed him. It was almost evil. His eyes were sunken in. He had a protruding forehead and cheekbones. There was blood smeared around his mouth.

"Who are you?" Lana asked, her heart beating wildly. She crawled backwards until her back was against the headstone.

The man wiped his mouth, moving into a patch of moonlight. He seemed to study Lana for a moment. "Don't you know it's dangerous to be in a graveyard at night?" he almost sneered.

Lana used the headstone to pull herself up, not taking her eyes off of the man. "What are you going to do to me?"

The man's face morphed before Lana's eyes. Now he looked human. "I'm not going to hurt you, nymph," the man said, an amused smirk taking over his face.

Lana didn't relax at his words. She turned when she heard a twig snap. When she turned back the man was gone. Lana looked around for him and saw something shining in the moonlight near where the man had been standing. 

She walked over to it, then grimaced. It was a jar. The inside was covered in what looked like blood. There was still some in the bottom of the tipped over jar.


	3. Smallville

Chapter 2-Smallville

"Lana, there you are," Chloe said, smiling brightly as she walked up to Lana's locker. 

Lana jumped at the noise.

"Hey, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost," Chloe said in concern.

Lana tried her best to smile. "I'm not sure what I saw, but maybe you can help me."

"Of course," Chloe said, following Lana to the Torch office.

In the next few minutes Lana explained to Chloe what had happened the night before. She told her everything, from the blood on the man's face and in the jar, to the exquisite beauty of the man in what she referred to as 'human-form.'

"You think he was drinking blood?" Chloe asked in confusion, sitting back on the red couch.

Lana shook her head, her chestnut hair swishing around her face. "I don't know what I saw. There was blood on his mouth, but I don't know if it was his own."

"That's odd, to say the least," Chloe replied thoughtfully. "Who do you think he could be?"

"I don't know. I've never seen him before," Lana told her.

"He morphed?" Chloe asked again, as if it was incredibly hard to grasp the idea.

"I don't know how else to describe it. His face was all…menacing, then it returned to normal," Lana said, searching for the right words. "He told me that graveyards are dangerous at night."

"Can you show me where he was? Maybe I can analyze whatever was in that jar if it's still there," Chloe said, standing and grabbing her purse.

"Sure," Lana agreed, following Chloe to the door. "It's by my parent's graves."

"Hey, girls. Where are you going?" Clark asked, almost running into Chloe as she left the office.

Chloe looked at Lana for approval. Lana nodded.

"Actually, we could use your protection if this mystery man is still there," Chloe said, motioning for Clark to follow her.

"What man? Why do you need protection? Where are we going?" Clark asked quickly, following Chloe and Lana down the deserted school hallway.

On the way to the cemetery Lana explained everything once again.

"I don't want you going there alone again," Clark said firmly as they pulled into the dirt road that led to the graves.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Really, Clark, the 'mama bear' act you have going on is cute, but the man said he wasn't going to hurt her."

"Can you believe him?" Clark asked, climbing from the car.

"From the look in his eyes I could tell he meant it," Lana told him, leading the way. "He had no intention of hurting me."

"Besides, what kind of homicidal maniac calls a girl a nymph?" Chloe asked.

"The kind who was drinking blood in a cemetery at night?" Clark supplied.

"Ok," Chloe relented. "I see your point."

"Here it is. He was right over there," Lana pointed to a clump of trees.

"What did you say that he said before he saw you?" Chloe asked, walking over to the spot.

"He was rambling about not being able to escape something," Lana told her. "He had a heavy English accent."

"So, we have an English, morphing, blood drinking man. Why does this not surprise me?" Chloe asked, squatting to brush leaves and dirt off of something.

"Because this is Smallville?" Clark asked, kneeling beside her. "What is it?"

"A jar of blood," Chloe pulled on a pair of latex gloves and held it up. She dropped it into a bag she pulled out of her jacket pocket.

"Wow, you come prepared," Lana said, turning her eyes from the red, liquid in the jar.

"I've learned from experience," Chloe replied with a grin, standing and brushing the dirt from her pants. "Alright, I'll have my contact analyze this and then I'll report back."

"Sounds good," Lana said, keeping her eyes away from the bag.

"Lana, promise me you won't come here by yourself?" Clark asked, almost begging her.

Lana was prepared to give Clark an 'I'm not a little girl' speech, but she saw the fear and concern in his eyes. "Okay, Clark. I promise."

The man watched from the deep shadows of the old crypt as the three friends climbed back into the car. The brunette girl had startled him the night before, causing him to drop the jar holding the last of his precious blood. Before he could get it back, the sodding kids had taken it. Now he'd have to go get more. He was beginning to think that this town was more trouble than it was worth.


	4. Sunnydale

Chapter 3-Sunnydale

"Hey, Buffy," Xander greeted, entering the Summer's home.

"What's up, Xander?" Buffy asked, walking from the kitchen with a cup of coffee.

"Have you seen Spike?" Xander questioned.

"Isn't he supposed to be with you?" Dawn asked, hopping down the stairs.

"He's kind of," Xander said with a long pause. "Missing."

"Missing?" Buffy asked, looking imploringly at Xander.

Xander started to fidget. "He's not at my place."

"How long has he been gone?" Dawn asked, moving into the dining room to stand by Buffy.

"Three days," Xander answered, waiting for Buffy to blow up.

"And you're just telling us now?!" Buffy asked loudly, setting down her cup.

"Buffy, calm down," Dawn urged. 

"I was kind of hoping he was gone for good this time," Xander said truthfully. I thought you'd feel the same way."

"Xander," Dawn said in a surprised tone.

"What, Dawn? He tried to rape Buffy and she's sad that he's gone? I say let him go," Xander said angrily.

"It's not that, Xand," Buffy told him softly. "He's different now."

"Yeah, now he's coo coo for cocoa puffs," Xander told her.

"Xander, don't talk that way about Spike," Dawn exclaimed, getting defensive when Buffy flinched at Xander's harshness.

"Hey, I just thought you might want to know. I didn't come here to be attacked," Xander said, walking to the door. "If you want to find him, that's up to you. But I say we're better off without him." Xander left, leaving Buffy and Dawn in shock.

"Do you think he's really gone?" Dawn asked, a hint of sadness in her voice.

"I don't know, Dawnie," Buffy replied softly, staring at the door.

"I mean, why are we sad?" Dawn asked with a light voice. She smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "He's gone. That's a good thing, right? Who needs a crazy vampire anyway?"

Buffy smiled, looking up at Dawn. "Go get your backpack. We have to be at the school early."

"Okay," Dawn said, turning to go back up the stairs.

Buffy took her cup to the kitchen, rinsed it out, and set it in the dishwasher. She rested her hands on the sink and stared out the window wondering where Spike could have gone.


	5. Smallville

Chapter 4-Smallville

"No, why are you here?" Spike raged, putting his hands over his ears. "You weren't supposed to be here. Why won't you leave me alone?"

Spike was in a crypt. It had two cement coffins, one of which was broken in half from someone unknown fight that Spike never saw. 

He was against a wall, rocking himself, his knees drawn up to his chest. "This isn't the bloody Hellmouth. Why won't you go away? Stop talking to me!" he said loudly, his voice reverberating in the crypt.

"I didn't mean it. I didn't know. It's different now," he pleaded, threading his fingers through his hair.

"It was supposed to stop. It was supposed to stop. It was supposed to stop," he whispered over and over to the emptiness.

***

"It's pig's blood," Chloe said, swishing around the red substance in a test tube. They were all convening in the Talon after Chloe called a meeting.

Lana shuddered. "Why would he have pig's blood?"

"Maybe he's a vampire," Pete said, grinning and pretending to bite Lana's neck. "I want to suck your blood."

Lana squealed, then stopped at Chloe's serious look. "What, Chloe?"

"I think Pete may be right," Chloe said, clicking her mouse on her laptop. She reached over to take a drink from her coffee mug.

"You can't be serious," Clark exclaimed, his face showing his disbelief.

"There's this site that I stumbled onto. Some girl has been uploading information."

"What kind of information?" Pete asked, leaning over Chloe's shoulder.

"It's actually information on different demons. It's sort of occult information with a specialty in vampires," Chloe explained, scrolling down the screen.

"This has got to be a joke. Vampires aren't real," Clark repeated.

"If he was a vampire, why was he drinking the blood from a glass? Why didn't he just attack me instead of getting pig's blood?" Lana asked in confusion.

"That's the thing that doesn't make sense. According to this Willow person vampires are heartless killers," Chloe said, scanning the various pages. "They won't think twice before draining someone."

"What else is on the website?" Pete asked, putting his arm behind Chloe to get a better look at the computer screen.

"She has a whole database of information on demons, and vampires. It explains the ways to kill a vampire, and so on," Chloe explained. 

"Why would a vampire show up in Smallville?" Lana asked, trying to think. 

"Fresh food?" Pete asked, only half kidding.

"If he came to hunt, then why the pig's blood? Why not human blood?" Chloe asked. "It says here that human blood is much more potent and powerful to vampires than animal blood."

"We better get some garlic," Pete told them, standing up.

"Pete, you need to brush up on your history of vampires," Chloe said with a smirk. "They can't go out in daylight or they'll literally fry. The only things that can ward them off are Holy water, and crosses."

"Crosses?" Clark asked. 

"Crosses are the holy, vampires are the unholy," Chloe read from the site. "If a vampire touches a cross it burns him or her. A cross can be anything from a necklace with a cross pendant, to two sticks off of the ground."

"Well, we better get some crosses," Pete said seriously.

"We need to find out who this guy is. Why is he here?" Chloe asked. You could almost see the wheels in her head spinning.

"Chloe," Clark warned, towering over her when he stood.

"I know, I know. 'Don't go there by yourself.' Back off, Clark. You're not my father," Chloe told him, not even bothering to look up.

"Chloe." This time it was Pete's turn to give her a warning tone.

"Alright, Pete. Fine. I won't go alone," Chloe told him, looking up at him.

"Well, we have to go help my dad," Clark said, gesturing to Pete. "Remember, don't go alone."

"We won't," Lana told him.

As soon as Clark and Pete were out of earshot Chloe added, "Not alone, anyways."


	6. Sunnydale

Chapter 5-Sunnydale

"Spike?" Dawn called. "Spike, are you down here?" 

Dawn walked down the stairs into the school basement. She looked at the cobwebs; so many for such a new school. She looked around and quickly noticed that Spike wasn't there. There wasn't any evidence that he had been there at all. 

Dawn trailed her fingers over the dusty desks, and boxes. He definitely wasn't in the basement. Nor had he been in a long time. She pulled out the cell phone Buffy had given her on the first day of school.

"Hey, it's me. No, he's not here. Home? Okay, I'll meet you there. Yeah, I know, I'll be careful. Bye," Dawn said, hanging up the phone and putting it back in her bag. 

A little while later she was sitting in the living with Willow, Xander, Buffy, and Anya. Though, Anya was almost halfway across the room.

"Where could he have gone?" Willow asked, sitting on the plush couch. 

"I don't know, but wherever he is, he's had four days to get there," Buffy answered, almost worrisome.

"And with his strength and speed he could be halfway across the country," Anya threw in. Everyone shot her mean looks. "What? It's the truth. Hey, I didn't ask to come to your little Scooby meeting here. _You_ asked _me_."

"Sorry, An," Xander apologized. 

Anya nodded. "You should be," she said, straightening her shoulders.

"Why would he leave?" Dawn asked. "Except for the obvious reason."

"You mean me?" Buffy asked, turning to Dawn.

"No, I didn't- I mean- Buffy-" Dawn tried to explain, sitting straight up. "Well, sort of."

"That's okay, Dawnie," Buffy said sadly. "I knew that's probably why."

"We don't know," Dawn said, trying to make Buffy feel better. "Maybe he's visiting relatives."

"Dawn, he's a vampire. His only relatives are Angel and Dru," Willow said gently. "I gave Angel a head's up, since Spike specifically said his name, but I highly doubt he went back to Dru."

"Oh, right. Well, why else would he leave?" Dawn asked.

"Because of me," Buffy said, her eyes filled with sadness. "He left because of me."

"Buffy, you don't know if that's true," Willow told her, reaching out to touch her arm.

Buffy shrugged her off. "I have to go patrol," she said, leaving the house.

"You know she's right," Anya said, from her chair. "He did leave because of her."

Dawn whirled in her chair. "What do you know about why he left?" she asked, her eyes like fire.

"All I know is that when he came back with a soul Buffy rejected him," Anya said, not wavering under the three's gaze. "He got his soul back for her, and she acted like she didn't care."

"Anya," Willow warned, watching as Dawn's eyes got wide.

"All I'm saying is that you've never felt pain until the one you love leaves you hanging," Anya said, looking at Xander.

"Well, I really need to get some sleep," Willow piped up, changing the subject.

"Fine, I know when I'm not wanted," Anya replied, standing and leaving.


	7. Smallville

Chapter 6-Smallville

"Should we really be doing this? I mean, I know you have the strength and invincibility going for you, but what have I got? This…thing, could eat me alive," Pete said nervously, following Clark through the graveyard.

"It was either you or one of the girls," Clark told him, looking around.

"I vote for Chloe," Pete told him, the leaves mashing under his feet.

Clark concentrated, looking around the headstones.

"You scanning anything?" Pete asked, looking around.

"Scanning?" Clark asked in amusement. 

"You know what I mean. X-raying," Pete amended.

"Yes, I am," Clark replied, finally turning toward the crypt. "There's something in there."

"Like a living something?" Pete asked, realizing his mistake. "I mean a living-_dead_ something?"

Clark shook his head. "It's not a body." Clark walked to the crypt and pulled open the door.

"Wow, party central," Pete muttered, shining his flashlight inside. Inside the crypt were wine bottles and jars of a red liquid.

"More blood," Clark said, reaching down to pick up one of the bottles.

"Maybe Chloe was right," Pete said, starting to believe.

"Anything can happen in Smallville. Wait, do you hear those voices?"

"That's Lana and Chloe. But who's the man?" Pete asked, listening.

Clark raced out of the crypt, following the voices. Pete had a hard time keeping up.

"No, I'm not from around here, pet," the man said.

"Where are you from?" Chloe asked. Her question was cut short when Clark and Pete raced up.

Chloe and Lana jumped at the sound of their footsteps, but the man seemed like he knew they were coming. "Quite the little party we have here," he said, before turning to Clark. "You, you're different."

"What?" Clark asked, fidgeting nervously.

"I can smell you. You don't smell like the others," Spike said, studying Clark.

"That's because he's a sweaty farm boy," Chloe replied, giving Clark a sidelong glance.

"Stop talking to me. I'm trying to talk to her. I can't hear her when you're talking," Spike said, turning his head at some unseen person. "Sod off. No, I will not. Would you bloody shut up?"

"Who are you talking to?" Lana asked, moving around Clark when he stood protectively in front of her.

"Them. They're here. I tried to get away, but they followed me," Spike said, as if asking for their help.

***

"So, this girl who owns the website. Her name's Willow Rosenberg. She lives in Sunnydale, California. Apparently she knows a lot about the occult, vampires, and demonology," Chloe explained once they were safely in Clark's loft. 

"Do you seriously believe this?" Clark asked.

"First of all, I've heard tales of vampires before. There's people called slayers. They are born with like superhuman strength. Basically, they go around killing demons and vampires," Chloe said annoyed. "Second, there's also what some people refer to as watchers. They're the people who look after and guide the slayers. I thought it was just myth. I mean, there's even a chat room for this Angel guy who's supposed to be a vampire with a soul who goes around saving people. Now, I'm starting to think maybe it isn't just an urban legend."

"How will some girl in California help us here in Kansas?" Lana asked, unconvinced.

"She has an email address on the site. I'll email her and ask her about it," Chloe said.

"What are you going to say?" Clark asked, sitting next to Chloe.

Chloe shrugged.


	8. Sunnydale

Chapter 7-Sunnydale

"Hey, guys," Willow called to the bickering friends. She was sitting at a table in the Buffy's living room. "Guys!"

"What Will?" Xander asked, turning to the redhead. 

"Listen to this," Willow said, reading from the screen.

"Willow Rosenberg,

Hi, my name is Chloe Sullivan. I live in Smallville, Kansas. I'm writing

in regards to your Watchers Database website. My friend, Lana, recently 

saw a man in the graveyard. It might sound weird, but we think he's a

vampire. We found bottles of blood, and wine in our town's crypt. He was 

drinking pig's blood. I don't know how to explain it, but his face was evil-like.

I mean, it was all monster looking, then morphed back to human-looking.

I'm not sure if he's a vampire. Really, I'm not even sure if vampires exist.

I just wanted to get your opinion. Please contact me if you have any more 

questions.

Sincerely,

Chloe Sullivan"

"Well, they described the vamp face, but why wouldn't he attack them if he was a vampire?" Buffy asked, looking to Willow for answers. "How can we be sure it _is_ a vampire?"

"That could be him," Dawn said hopefully.

"How did he get all the way to Kansas?" Xander questioned.

"Again with the vampire stamina and speed," Buffy said, moving to look over Willow's shoulder. "Do you think it's him?"

"It could be any vampire, if it's a vampire at all" Willow replied, trying not to get her hopes up.

"Yeah, but 'any vampire' would have drained that girl without a second thought," Xander put in. "That doesn't make sense."

"Is it him?" Buffy asked again.

"We'll find out," Willow said, typing up a reply. "But I don't want to give the girl too much information. Let's find out if it's Spike, first."


	9. Smallville

Chapter 8-Smallville

"Chloe,

Are there any characteristics that you could describe for me? Anything

that seems to jump out at you? I need to know a few more details. I do

believe that he's a vampire, but I need all of the details you can give me. Even 

the littlest thing can help.

Also, this may seem weird, but when your friend met him, did he try to 

bite her? Just to be safe you shouldn't go near the graveyard at night. If there's 

one vampire, there's probably more.

Sincerely,

Willow"

"Okay, so either she's highly organized, or she's actually for real," Pete said, listening as Chloe finished reading the email.

"Details?" Chloe asked. "Lana, this is your field."

Lana shrugged, moving to type into the computer.

***

"I can't take it. I can't take. Where's Buffy? Buffy can fix it. Where's Buffy?" Spike said, pacing in the crypt.

"Who's Buffy?" a voice asked. Her voice cut through the darkness like a knife, but the man didn't seem startled by it.

Spike spun to look at the owner of the voice. It was the girl by the tombstone, and her little blond friend. "Buffy, Buffy."

"Yeah, we got that," Chloe said tiredly. "Who is she? Who are you?"

"I'm a vampire, aren't you scared?" Spike asked, beginning to pace again.

"No, we have these," Lana replied, holding out a cross.

Spike barely glanced at them. "They burn. The burn feels good. It overpowers the pain. The pain of the spark inside."

"What's he talking about?" Lana whispered to Chloe.

"Maybe being mentally insane was a characteristic we should have told that Willow girl," Chloe whispered.

Spike stopped cold. "Willow? Where's Willow? Willow's here? Then Buffy is, too."  
Chloe narrowed her eyes. "You know Willow?"

"Where's Red. Is she here?" Spike asked, turning to Lana and Chloe.

"Who's Red?" Lana asked in confusion.

"Red is Willow. Pay attention, pet," Spike said seriously.

"Wow, you really turn the weird on and off, don't you?" Chloe asked, rolling her eyes.

"Stop talking to me. I'm trying to find out. She may be coming. If she comes I must get ready," Spike muttered into the darkness, before turning back to Chloe and Lana. "Is Buffy coming?"

"Who's Buffy?? Lana asked again, sensing the change in Spike's attitude once again.

Tell me!" Spike demanded. He raised his hand to slap Lana. Before Lana could scream Spike yelled. His hands flew to his head as he was flung against the crypt wall. "Bloody chip!'

"Let's get out of here," Lana said, turning.

She and Chloe ran to the car and sped away.


	10. Sunnydale

Chapter 9-Sunnydale

"It's Spike," Willow said, getting her friend's attention.

"How do you know?" Xander asked, walking to stand next to his friend.

"She said that she and her friend went to the crypt where he's staying. He got upset and tried to slap her friend. When he did he grabbed his head, yelled in pain, and was thrown against the wall. She said it was almost as if someone had hit him. Then he said something about a chip," Willow explained

"That doesn't mean that it's him," Xander pointed out. "Spike wasn't the only one implanted with the behavior chip."

"Yeah, but get this. He was rambling on about Buffy, and called me Red," Willow went on. Then she began to read from the email. "I mentioned your name and he started asking about 'Red.' He said if Willow was here, then that meant Buffy was, too. When we didn't answer that's when he got really upset.'"

"What else does it say?" Buffy asked, pulling a chair out and sitting down.

"It says he has a heavy English accent. He called them 'pet,'" Willow explained. "They don't understand why he's not attacking people." 

"That's Spike, alright," Dawn replied. "If it was any other vamp, Angel excluded, then they would have had a feast by now."

"Willow, can you make sure?" Buffy asked, turning to her red-headed friend. "Will you do a finding spell?"

"Sure," Willow told her. "I'll need something of his, though."

As Buffy walked into the other room Dawn spoke up. "If you could do a finding spell on Spike, why wait until Buffy asks you to?"

"You guys are so insistent that there's other ways to do things, that I didn't want to use magic until I was asked," Willow explained.

"Here," Buffy said, walking back into the room with a shirt. "This is Spike's."

The gang looked appalled for a moment that Buffy would have it, but Willow tried to break the tension. "Well, I'll go do it. Be right back," she said, taking the shirt and going up the stairs. A few minutes later she came back down. "I'd say 'Toto we aren't in Kansas anymore' but Spike _is_."

"So, what are we going to do?" Xander asked, looking at Buffy.

Buffy took a deep breath. "Go get him. What else can we do?"

"Leave him there?" Xander supplied. "It's not like he can hurt anyone. At least there he can't hurt you."

"Xand, I appreciate the sentiment, but I can't just leave him. He has a soul now, and with the chip he's not safe," Buffy said gently.

"Fine," Xander said in defeat, plopping down on the couch.

Buffy turned to Willow. "Wills, tell this Chloe girl that we're coming. We'll have to drive, so we can come back when it's dark. We'll be there in two days."

"It will take us at least three days, Buffy," Xander told her.

"Not if we don't stop," Buffy replied. "Do it, Willow."

"Alright," Willow said, beginning to type.


	11. Smallville

Chapter 10-Smallville

"They're coming to get him?" Pete asked in amazement. 

"From what she says, they've been looking for him for a while. He disappeared from Sunnydale about a week ago," Chloe explained.

"Who looks for vampires?" Clark asked, walking down main street with his friends.

"She says he's sort of a friend that they've been taking care of," Chloe went on. "She didn't give me much detail, only that this Buffy girl he's been talking about is coming with her to take him home."

"Home? Do vampires have homes?" Pete asked.

"Okay, even for Smallville standards this is weird," Lana said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Yeah, a vampire, from California shows up in Kansas?" Clark asked.

"A vampire with the inability to hurt people to top it off," Pete added.

"Don't forget the insane part," Chloe threw in. "Well, they get here tomorrow. They're going to meet us at the Talon at nine, then we'll go to the cemetery and show her where he is."

"We're supposed to take this girl and her friends to the cemetery to retrieve their vampire?" Clark asked in disbelief.

"Hey, it's an interview opportunity," Chloe said proudly.

"It's always about the interviews and photo ops, isn't it?" Clark asked with a grin.

***

The next day…

"Are you Chloe?" a red-haired girl asked, standing in front of the Talon.

"Yes," Chloe answered, extending her hand. "I'm Chloe and this is Lana, Clark, and Pete."

"I'm Willow. This is Buffy, Xander, and Dawn," she said, gesturing to her friends.

"So, you're Buffy. From the two times we've talked to this…guy, he seemed very worried about you," Lana said, stepping forward to shake Buffy's hand.

"Yeah, he's a real concerned type of…guy," Xander said haughtily.

"What's his problem?" Chloe asked, nodding toward Xander.

"Let's just say he's not too fond of Spike," Dawn piped up, glancing at Xander as he walked back to the car.

"His name's Spike?" Clark asked.

"That's weird," Pete added.

"Long story," Buffy said simply. "Vampire history and all."

"Right," Lana said, looking around the parking lot. "Do you think he'll go with you?"

"She's Buffy. Besides, she's really strong," Dawn said as if it were obvious. She got quiet when Willow and Buffy shot her a warning look.

"Like a slayer?" Pete asked, a grin creeping over his face at his own joke.

"Why don't we go to the crypt now?" Buffy asked, changing the subject.

Chloe shrugged. "You can follow us," she said, walking to her red car as Lana, Pete, and Clark followed.

When they got to the cemetery Lana led the way to the crypt. "That's it over there."

Buffy nodded, marching purposefully over to the crypt. "Spike?"

"It didn't work," a voice behind them said.

Buffy whirled to face it, getting ready to defend the group.

"I came to escape them, but they follow me everywhere," Spike said softly. "I just want it out."

"I know, Spike," Buffy said, immediately softening. She walked to him slowly. "But we have to go home. We can figure this out, but we have to go back to Sunnydale."

"Look," Lana gasped, pointing where a little of Spike's chest was exposed. There were huge gash marks in the skin.

"What happened?" Clark asked Willow.

Willow seemed unable to decide if she could tell him or not. 

"Long story short," Xander cut in. "He got his soul back, but it's not the vacation he thought it would be. Now, he wants it out."

"Ok, this is an overload," Clark said, shaking his head to clear his thoughts.

"Nibblet?" Spike asked, as if seeing her for the first time.

"Come on, Spike," Dawn pleaded, her eyes filled with sadness. "Please come with us. You have to come back."

Spike seemed to think about it for a moment. When Buffy held out her hand, Spike slipped his hand into hers.

Willow smiled, turning to Clark, Pete, Lana, and Chloe. "Thank you."

"Yeah, thanks for telling us where he was. I don't know what we'd do without him," Xander said sarcastically.

"Xander," Willow said firmly, turning to him briefly.

"No problem," Lana told them. "I hope he'll be okay."

"He'll be fine, now," Dawn assured them.

Chloe, Pete, Clark, and Lana watched as the five climbed into the car.

"A vampire with a soul," Lana whispered.

"Welcome to our leafy little hamlet," Chloe said, gesturing to the town.

"Smallville, land of the weird, home of the strange," Clark added.

Pete shrugged. "Don't we ever get a break from the freaks around here?"

The four laughed together, climbing back into Chloe's car, and driving off.

***

"They'll stop now. Won't they, love?" Spike asked, rocking himself in Buffy's arms as Buffy stared straight ahead on their way out of town. "Now that you came to save me? Yes. They'll stop now. They'll stop."


End file.
